The feeling first arose when my right hand was near the spear's butt and my left was just shy of the center. I recreated the positions and suddenly felt like I was holding the spear again. Only for a moment though. As soon as the feeling flashed through me, it was gone, just like the first time.

I moved my hands out of position. Nothing happened. I put them back, and the feeling returned, again only for a moment. I repeated the motion three times, with the same result.

It was like the Skill was saying, "Yes, that's right, but keep going. There's more."

Which made sense. The rest of my body was standing normally, in nothing like a fighting stance. The only martial arts stance I knew was Horse from Baduanjin qigong.

I spread my legs wide, my feet parallel to each other, and dropped my center. The position was comfortable after a decade of qigong, but I couldn't see how it'd be useful for the spear. In movies, fighters almost always staggered their feet, like a boxer might or in yoga's Warrior One pose.

I turned my hips and torso to the left, which naturally transformed Horse into Warrior One. My left foot pointed forward, and my right foot was perpendicular to it. The Skill flashed in approval, and I grinned.

It was like a game, a puzzle. The body moved in only so many ways, and the trick was to find the right combination for the task. Skill-Sensei was the referee, and he would reward me whenever I took a step in the right direction. In a way, it was like having my very own biofeedback machine.

So I systematically played with all the joints and angles in my body and discovered that Skill-Sensei was very specific about his preferences: weight evenly distributed between my feet, a straight back, and my head held high with my eyes looking out beyond the spear's tip.

Interestingly, there were variations that worked. For example, the distance between my feet could vary, but my center's height had to raise or lower in response in order to feel like I was holding the spear.

Ironically, the hardest piece of the puzzle to solve was how to hold the spear itself. I quickly discovered that using the whole hand was a mistake, as it limited the spear's range of movement. Holding mainly with my thumbs and two strongest fingers dramatically improved the range of movement, but Skill-Sensei didn't approve.

The correct answer, determined by process of elimination, was to hold the spear mainly with the three weakest fingers and use the thumbs and index fingers in a support role. Which was weird and counterintuitive, but Skill-Sensei was adamant. The feeling of holding the spear ran through me when I finally stumbled across the correct answer. And it stayed. I'd found all the pieces. My body was in full alignment with Skill-Sensei's demands.

The feeling was so very sweet. And it vanished as soon as I stepped forward. I didn't know how to move my hands and jumbled the transition. I got back into alignment and tried again, with the same result.

Ugh. Learning from Skill-Sensei was going to be a long, pain-staking process. Thankfully, it didn't take much to be effective with the spear: just stab a thing with the pointy end. If I had to, I’d muddle through any combat encounters until I learned more and better.

I slid forward instead of stepping, and that helped--at least I didn't have to reposition my hands. The practice thrusts weren't bad either. Skill-Sensei didn't approve, but I saw how my left hand could steer the attack from the front, while my right hand drove it forward from the back.

Oh, Skill-Sensei just flashed. And then again when I remembered to strengthen my core muscles. It was a chance idea based on the fact that anything physical I'd done in my life stressed the importance of maintaining a strong core.

I practiced until dark and convinced Skill-Sensei to approve of two more thrusts and a backward slide. My body was worn out by then, even with Ikfael Glen's Blessing boosting my recovery rate.

My mossy bed called to me, and I answered. Only to pop right back up. I still had mana to spend, and there was a quick experiment I'd been meaning to try.

I found my spear and infused it with nature mana. The haft smoothed. The flint sharpened. And when I nicked my thumb on the spearhead, it was like being cut by a razor. I infused qi into the spear, and the weapon felt more solid. The haft resisted marks, and the spearhead didn't chip easily.

Huh... the enchantment cost two points worth of mana and qi.

I picked up Princess Lilly and repeated the experiment. She also took two points of mana and qi. The bow smoothed and became more resilient. The bowstring tightened and became more elastic.

An arrow only needed one point of mana and qi to benefit. Enchanted, it almost reached the same quality as a modern broadhead.

Similar to my tools, the enchantments lasted a minute. My understanding was that most fights didn't last that long, but just in case, I infused the spear with four mana and qi to see if it could be front loaded like the Antler.

The enchantment lasted two minutes as expected. With that, I went back to bed with one more tool in my survival toolbox. Go me.

I was doing my best to ignore the sheer exhaustion, the aches and pains, when--shazbot--I realized that I forgot to explore the Stealth Skill. Maybe if I closed my eyes for a short nap, I'd...Zzzzz.

###

The next morning, my body felt like it'd been put through the grinder. Flushing qi and nature mana through the muscles helped to ease the discomfort. It was enough to get me out of bed anyway. There were very necessary necessities needing to be addressed!

Afterward, with my business in the bushes done, I grit my teeth and let the enchantment lapse. It meant hobbling around the glen like an old man, but I needed to save the rest of my magical resources for the refrigerator and magic practice.

The morning routine was torture as a result, even after adapting it for my sore-as-frick body. I shuddered to think what state I'd be in without Ikfael's Blessing boosting my recovery rate.

The hard work paid off though.

Constitution 8 (9) Agility 8 (9)

Oh sweet heaven, it was another good morning. I now had three stats on an upward trend. I just wished I knew how it compared to others on this world.

I played with my magical skills but didn't learn anything new about them. I saved some mana and qi for later though, so that I'd have a full tank for my evening practice session.

One thing I did discover was that Skill-Sensei also taught Archery. Specifically, he taught drawing the bow. I found the feeling under my memories.

I already had a decent understanding of the fundamentals, so the feeling was mostly a reminder of the things I needed to be aware. It cost me $50 an hour for similar feedback from an instructor, so it was a real deal. Well, other than the part about being constantly in danger.

After lunch, I braided rope for a couple of hours, and when my fingers were as sore as the rest of me, I took a break to explore the Stealth Skill. Inside were memories of playing hide and seek with my brother Miguel, hunting in the woods with abuelito, and every bad ninja movie from the 80s and 90s.

“Hey, S-Eight. Can’t we just purge those?" I loved the movies at the time, but they were just so bad.

Fortunately, most of the memories were from hunting: building blinds, walking softly, paying attention to how the wind blew, watching my prey with mild eyes, and, of course, blending my heart with the land.

Underneath these memories was a nugget of understanding: that different animals perceived the world in different ways, and to be hidden was to either cloud that perception or remove yourself from it (or both).

There were no runes or feelings, just that kernel of wisdom. Skill-Sensei was a tough teacher. Fortunately, I'd done a lot of hunting. My Survival Forest 6 meant I wasn't starting from scratch.

Hmm… would it be negligence to sneak off into the woods to practice Stealth? I looked at the large pile of bark still left to be processed and decided no--it was perfectly reasonable to practice the Stealth Skill. And while I was at it, I'd look for more turkey feathers. I needed to replace the arrows left behind in the spirit journey.

I grabbed my spear, Princess Lily, and two of the stilettos. The arrows, I threaded through a loop of cord attached to my belt. It was awkward with a pole in each hand--I’m sure I must’ve looked like a cross-country skier or something--but I didn’t want to leave without all my weapons. My only disappointment was that I couldn’t find an easy way to bring the third stiletto.

Huh… that was worrying actually. Was the otter’s impulse to hoard contagious?

###

I backtracked towards the moose calf's remains, mindful of the sight lines as I walked. There wasn't much underbrush in this part of the forest. The only places to hide were behind the trees, so I went from trunk to trunk, like a checker across a checkerboard.

There were vultures circling above, just like the last time I was here. Did I stumble across the monster turkey hunting more prey?

I pressed ahead, while looking for approaches screened by the trees. The forest was quiet, except for the chirp of a squirrel nearby. The ground was soft with leaf clutter and pine needles. I threaded some of the needles between my armor’s rings, so that it wouldn’t jingle when I crept forward. I strung my bow and pulled one of the arrows free, just in case.

I headed toward where the vultures circled. In between the trees, I saw a baboon, low to the ground, sneaking forward. His fur was ratty, and he moved with a hitch in his steps. Life hadn’t treated him well, but that didn’t bother him. All his focus was on his prey.

The memory of being chased by a baboon was still fresh, and I gulped. He didn’t know I was here. I could sneak away with him none the wiser.

Or I could find my courage and wait out the hunt. If he was stalking a turkey, I’d have plenty of feathers after he finished. And if it wasn’t a turkey, I’d still likely gain in some way from his leftovers.

Why was I working so hard, if not for moments like this?

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and crept after him. A thickly-branched hemlock tree screened me from view. I laid my spear on the ground and brushed a branch aside to check on the baboon’s progress. I nearly fell on my ass in surprise.

His prey wasn’t a turkey. It was a girl, maybe nine or ten, hunched over the moose calf’s bones. She was absorbed by the bones and had no idea the baboon was behind her. There was no way I could run now.

The only thing going for me was that the baboon was focused on the girl and paid no attention to what was behind him. It was a lesson I’d need to remember too. Don’t become so engrossed that you don’t look behind you.

I turned around and saw another child--a boy of about five. His hair was dark and cropped short. His clothes were simple but clean. He could very easily be the girl’s younger brother. I caught him sneaking up on me, like it was a game of hide and seek.

His expression didn’t change when I spotted him. He just stood and waited to see what I’d do. Which was nothing. There were more urgent matters to attend to first. I gestured for the boy to be quiet and turned around to line up my shot.

The baboon hid behind a tree only ten yards from the girl. It had to be now.

I stepped out from behind the hemlock’s branches and drew the bow. My heart pounded. The qi surged within me. The feeling triggered a thought, and I quickly infused mana and qi into the arrow. When the shot felt right, I released. The arrow flew, and I grabbed the other arrow for the next shot.

“Look out!” I yelled. “There’s a monster behind you!”

All heck broke loose.

The baboon turned to see where the noise came from and took the arrow in the shoulder. His face distorted. He screamed, piercing the air with his pain.

The girl spun at the sound, but instead of running away, she ran toward him. I’d just released the second arrow and grabbed my spear when--horrified--I saw her skin split apart. A swamp green creature emerged, all beak and surrounded by ruffles. The creature latched onto the baboon’s back.

My thinking brain hiccuped, not understanding what was in front of me, but the animal in my brain understood the danger. It spun me around to see a second beak lunging at me. I dodged to the side and scrambled to put the tree between us.

The creature chased me, and I thrust at it with my spear. It was all instinct and none of Skill-Sensei’s lessons, but there was no time for anything else. The spearhead scraped across the creature’s beak and landed in the ruffled area around it. His hide was tough. The spear didn’t penetrate through. There was enough purchase though to push the creature away. It took all my strength. The little frick was heavier than he looked.

I lined up another thrust and remembered to enchant my spear. Well, the reality was messier than that. I just dumped qi and mana into the spear. Everything was a panic, and I was fighting for my life against a weird Little Shop of Horrors monster wrapped in little boy skin. Gods, but it was the stuff of nightmares.

This time, the spear left a gash on his beak. The horror spun to bite at it in a frenzy. The attacks left indentations on the spear’s haft, but it didn’t snap, didn’t break.

I let my left hand go and grabbed one of the stilettos. My right hand held onto the spear, as the horror pulled. It was like fishing. I had to wait for the right moment to--I pulled the horror toward me when he was off balance. He fell but didn’t give up the spear.

I drove the stiletto through his eye, but it felt like driving a stake through a butternut squash. The horror didn’t even feel it. The head was a dummy, a husk filled with nothing but fiber.

I drew the other stiletto and drove into the horror’s back. He stuttered but kept on attacking. I heard a crack, but couldn’t see the spear’s haft through the horror’s beak. He refused to let go, no matter how hard I pulled.

Dang and dang! I knew I should’ve brought the third stiletto.

We played tug of war, but the horror became weaker and weaker as time passed. The more he struggled, the more the stiletto in his back tore up his insides. The head may have been a dummy, but there were real organs inside the torso.

He didn’t give up the spear, even after he died. I had to pry it free from his beak. I grabbed my stilettos and ducked under the tree’s branches. There was his sister still to deal with.

Ugh. The baboon wasn’t as lucky as me. He was dead, and the sister-horror was headed my way to investigate the disturbance. She looked whole once more, the terrifying beak hidden inside her body. Even more horrifying, the closer she came, the more real she began to look.

I noticed it with the brother-horror too. While he was alive, his face was expressionless but looked real. Dead, it was wooden, and I couldn’t understand how I mistook him for a real boy. Even the clothes were camouflage, colored parts of his body. I could’ve sworn I saw them move with the wind, but there was no way that was possible.

I should retreat. She was far enough away where I could. But if I did, she’d attack someone else. Why else would the horror pretend to be a child if not to prey on people? The disguise was to lure them into complacency, just like the brother-horror had with me.

She was bigger than her brother though, and I was out of arrows. My only hope, if I wanted to defeat her, was an ambush.

The sister-horror walked past my tree. I breathed softly and made my eyes mild. I hugged the trunk hoping my slight body would blend with it. And if she had otherworldly senses, then maybe my life force would blend with the tree too.

If she had a sense of smell though, I was doomed. I stunk to high heaven. Not just of grime and sweat, but also fear, bitter and pungent.

The sister-horror knelt by her brother’s carcass. I heard swick, as her body split and the beak emerged. It opened and clacked closed, as it sucked in gulpfuls of air. Oh sugar, it was scenting after all.

How much mana and qi did I infuse into the spear? I hadn’t looked beforehand, so I didn’t know. That meant I also didn’t know how much time was left on the enchantment.

Mana 2/15 Qi 2/11

I couldn’t risk the spear breaking. It was a miracle it hadn't already. I enchanted the spear with what was left and eased myself away from the tree trunk. The time to attack was now, and to be safe, I had to finish the fight within a minute.